Support apparatuses for the upholstery of furniture for sitting and/or lying are commonly known in the form of slatted frames. The slatted frames of the prior art feature a base, which features a plurality of support elements, which can be adjusted relative to one another and on which the a bed mattress is supported when the slatted frame is employed. The support elements can be pivoted relative to one another about substantially parallel pivoting axes. For example, the slatted frame can feature a fixed center support, to the end of which an upper body support is connected hingedly and pivotally about a horizontal pivot axle, wherein a leg support can be connected hingedly and pivotally about a horizontal axle to the end of the center support facing away from the upper body support, so that this known slatted frame comprises three support elements arranged tandemly lengthwise in the slatted frame.
Slatted frames with five or more support elements are also known from the prior art, wherein a head support is usually connected hingedly and pivotally about a horizontal pivot axle to the end of the upper body support facing away from the center support, while the calf support is connected hingedly and pivotally about a horizontal pivot axle to the end of the leg support facing away from the center support.
In the slatted frames of the prior art the supports connected hingedly to one another are designed so that the longitudinal rails of the slatted frame feature a plurality of sections in tandem, wherein two sections immediately tandem to one another are hingedly connected to one another and the corresponding sections of both longitudinal rails form with one another, or optionally together with at least a transverse rail connecting these sections, a support element. On their upper surfaces, the support elements feature suspension elements, for example, flexible slats. In the support apparatuses of the prior art the corresponding sections of the longitudinal rails are, as a rule, permanently connected to one another, for example, by being glued to a transverse rail. As a result a nondestructive disassembly of the prior art slatted frame is not possible.
Slatted frames are also known in the prior art, in which the transverse rails are connected to the longitudinal rails by fasteners. In these slatted frames of the prior art, a nondestructive disassembly is also not possible.
To facilitate the motorized adjustment of the slatted frames of the prior art, drives in the form of so-called double drives are known, wherein two drive mechanisms are present in the same housing. A double drive of this type is known, for example, from EP 0 372 032 B2.
From DE 38 42 078 C2 a motorized adjustable support apparatus in the form of a slatted frame is known, which for electromechanical adjustment features a double drive, which is disposed below a fixed center support. For adjusting an upper body support relative to the center support a yolk is present, which is connected nonrotatably to a shaft mounted pivotally on the understructure of the slatted frame and on which the upper body support rests closely. In a corresponding manner a lever assembly is present for pivoting a leg support and calf support connected thereto, which is connected nonrotatably with another shaft mounted on the understructure of the slatted frame. The pivoting of the shaft is facilitated by means of the drive mechanisms of the double drive. In the slatted frame of the prior art the double drive can be housed in the actual slatted frame.
From DE 199 62 541 C3 a motorized adjustable support apparatus in the form of a slatted frame is known, in which at least one of the longitudinal rails one of the supports is realized as a hollow section, wherein an electromechanical drive for adjusting the supports relative to one another is housed in the hollow section. In this slatted frame of the known art, the longitudinal rails are fixedly connected to one another via transverse rails.
Furthermore, the width of the slatted frame of the prior art is strictly dictated by the fixtures employed via which the electromechanical drive actuates the support elements to be adjusted and cannot be modified.
A similar support apparatus is also known from DE 100 46 751 A1.